Densely clustering feather-leafed palm to 25 m tall, c. 12-15 cm diameter, stem covered with long downward-pointing black spines. Crown pale green to greyish; leaves c. 3 m long, spreading, gently arching; leaflets regularly arrange, pendent to the rachis appearing like a curtain. Inflorescence growing below the crown shaft, much branched. Fruits are globose, ripening black with waxy bloom, c. 0.5-0.7 cm diameter.